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12/28/2010: "Naga integration: Prospects and Challenges Dr Xavier Mao Morungexpress"

Naga integration: Prospects and Challenges Dr Xavier Mao Morungexpress

The concept of integration in political development is intimately connected with the idea of state formation. Historically, people began to live in social group rather than in the state. The state is later day development. In the 19th century, Italy was integrated by three prominent leaders namely Mazini, Garibaldi and C. Gabour. In the same century after the Italian integration Bismarc the Chancellor of Germany is said to have integrated Germanic state together. During the late 3rd century B.C. Qin had unified most of China. The territories annexed by Qin became the homeland of the Chinese nation, and formed the basis of the Qin Dynasty. But much before, the mentioned unification and integration, the Indian Monarch ruler Chandra Gupta Maurya in the 6th Century B.C. conquered small territories and created a huge empire. Seen in this light, it is Chandra Gupta Maurya and not even Chinese emperor Qin who should be rightly called as the first Monarch or empire builder in the world. The Mauryan empire with the help of Chanakya or otherwise known as Kautilya employed sama (friendship), dana(gift), danda (punishment) and Bheda(Discrimination) in forming his empire. The above historical account clearly shows that force is to a very large extent lies at the root of state formation and integration, with the exception of the latest European integration. European integration is primarily the result of the selective pooling of national sovereignty, or ultimate jurisdiction over a body politic, by postwar European nation states. These are different regional organization in Europe to promote and foster cooperation among themselves, above all the European union (EU formally known as the European Economic community, European Community or common market). From its origins in the 1950s, the EU Expanded from 6 to 15 member state to 27 till today. The EU maintained close links to a variety of other organizations which promote or foster European cooperation, such as NATO, the organization for security an, cooperation in Europe(OSCE) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Thus today, the EU is the most powerful, important and successful manifestation of European integration.

Ancient Indian cartography clearly shows that the present entire North-East part of India excluding Kamrup district was never included in Bharatavasha or India. The history of the advent Nagas to the present territory (Nagalim) is still very uncertain. It is a fact that in the part various tribes and groups kept on moving from place to place, from countries to countries and on top of it from continent to continent. It is said that the present day Red Indians inhabiting the west coast of America migrated from Asia. The same is true of the so called Aryans or the Hindus. It is believed that the forefathers of Indian came from outside India. Therefore it can be said that no piece of land originally belongs to any individual or any social group.

Whether Nagas came from China or any other part of the globe, but the fact remains that at present they are inhabiting a large Chunk of the North-East of India. During the British rule, the colonial rulers in the self-interest interfered with the Nagas as a social group, that is why inner line permit was Planned. In other words, nobody from the Indian sate was allowed to enter in Naga inhabited areas without prior permission. It is a fact that today Nagas are dispersed in adjoining areas of present Nagaland state. That is, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Myanmar. Accidentally, today Myanmar is a separate state although during British rule Burma and India were under the same administration.

The first prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru took upon himself the formation of state on linguistic and Cultural basis. The first such state formed was Orissa. Subsequently other state were formed on cultural and linguistic basis. But the problem has not been solved; new problem have emerged. The Nags from this ancient independent village administration, started to assert a collective aspiration and common goal of a sovereign independent Nagaland. For some reason or other, this collective struggle is greatly fragmented into many factions today. As a result, the original ideology and commitment are also greatly diluted and weakened. The traditional notion of sovereignty has also undergone a radical change with the emergences of a new social, economic and political order at the global level. Further, even India is an emerging global power. In the light of such development, even majority of the Nagas today are no longer insisting on the complete sovereignty and independent nation. But it is quite natural for them to demand the integration of Nega inhabited areas with Nagaland state. The demand is very legitimate and genuine keeping in view of their long rightful struggle as a people. The Nagas are not demanding complete secession i.e. sovereign, independent states. To reiterate, it is a very small rational and reasonable demand. But the adjoining states are very adamant and undemocratic in their opposition to concede such demand. Further, the central Government having constituted of different political parties does not have the requisite political will to transcend the narrow party interest for the sake of the larger national interest. Thirdly even the Nagas themselves are noyt fully committed towards this goal. As usual the argument is that if such integration is allowed, their geographical territories will be reduced. Secondly by invoking the myth of the so called age-old peaceful coexistence and harmony should not be disturbed. Let status quo remain. But the above fear and the myth of harmony among different ethnic and racial groups are baseless and uncalled for. To let the status quo remain is to perpetuate uneven development and injustice for the minorities. Also to perpetuate the division of the oneness of the Nagas. If as far as possible, Bengalis, Biharis, Tamils, Telegus, Malyalis, Kanadas etc. have been allowed to live together, how is it that Nagas are debarred from it? The Nagas are not demanding the Moon from heaven they are not hammering on the old stand point. By not conceding their small legitimate demand, the Government of India is showing or exhibiting its adamant negative attitude which is not in the greater interest of the Indian state. Such weak will and the priority given to party interest over the national interest will have their own serious harmful consequences for the Indian state. For all practical purposes, the Nagas are Indian citizens today. They want to live in India with special autonomy which will guarantee their honour, dignity and self-respect. The Nagas have also given up the path of violence. It is left with the wisdom of the different political parties of India to sit together and work out a viable modus operandi for integration of Naga inhabited areas. Of course no integration is perfect in human world. But the Government, that is the party in power with their coalition partners should try its best to do the maximum, whatever is possible under the provision of the Constitution by following the principal of win-win or mutual benefit. Indian Constitution under Article 3 clearly provides for the reorganization of states. This is possible in a democracy with strong political will. What is clearly lacking is the collective political will of the Government of India and the domination of party interest over the national interest.

In order to speed up the process of Naga integration, we the Nagas have also to intensify our pro-active roles at different level. Multi-pronged strategies need to be adopted to facilitate, promote and foster the integration within a particular time frame. Emotional integration among the Nagas also required to be strengthened through closer and frequent interaction.

Dr Xavier Mao , Associate Professor
Dept. of Philosophy
North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793022
Govt set to open up restricted North-East areas to foreigners Sahil Makkar, sahil.m@livemint.com
India has decided to lift restrictions on foreigners entering prohibited areas in Manipur, Nagaland and some other North-East states to promote tourism in the region.
“The announcement will be made within a day or two,” said a senior government official on condition of anonymity. “It was decided keeping in view repeated demands made by representatives from the North-East and (to) promote tourism in the states.”
Indians and foreigners who want to visit states in the North-East need special permission from the government under three restrictive regimes—inner-line permit (ILP) for Indians, and protected area permit (PAP) and restricted area permit (RAP) for foreigners.
Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim were put under PAP in 1958 to prevent religious conversions, radicalization of religion and control insurgency.
Under this, foreigners except citizens of neighbouring Bhutan require special permits from the home ministry to enter these states. A violation could mean imprisonment of up to five years, but there have hardly been any arrests because of a lack of proper monitoring.
“In 60 years, we have largely maintained to put insurgency under control in the NorthEastern states and we do not expect it to rise further. So it was decided to lift PAP for one year on experimental basis,” said another official in the home ministry, asking not to be identified.
“If it is successful, we will extend it further,” the official added. The government is not lifting the restrictions under ILP and RAP. Indians need ILPs to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram and RAPs are necessary to visit certain areas such as near military bases or insurgency-affected regions in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
“It is the right step taken by the Centre... and will promote tourism in the region,” said Ved Marwah, a former governor of Manipur.
The home ministry official said the move to ease restrictions under PAP “will not only help boost tourism... but also help those foreigners who have family and friends in prohibited areas of these states.”
Separate statehood demand in insurgency-hit Nagaland
PTI Agency: IST

New Delhi Six major tribal groups in insurgency-hit Nagaland have now come together to demand carving out of a separate state.
The demand for "Frontier Nagaland" was raised by Chang, Konyak, Sangtam, Khiamniungan, Yimchungru and Phom communities under the aegis Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO).
The demand is considered to be a setback for the outfits like NSCN (IM), which is now engaged in peace negotiations with the government after leading a six-decade-long bloody insurgency movement.
The NSCN(IM)'s key demand is unification of all Naga inhabited areas comprising entire Nagaland and some areas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
An ENPO delegation recently met Home Minister P Chidambaram and Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai here and placed their demand for the separate state comprising Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire and Mon districts as well as three sub divisions of two other districts. The region has about half of Nagaland's population - 9 lakh - and geographical area.
The ENPO also sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press their demand.
"The delegation said that it has become impossible for them to continue as part of present-day Nagaland because there is no development in the region and their hopes and aspirations could not be fulfilled in the present state," a home ministry official said.
The ENPO has been demanding 'Frontier Nagaland' "within the Constitution of India".
Nagaland has 11 districts - Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung, Zunheboto, Wokha, Tuensang, Phek, Mon, Peren, Kephire, Longleng. It has a population of nearly 20 lakh.
Demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland' gaining ground Iboyaima Laithangbam The Hindu
With the demand for the creation of “Frontier Nagaland” gaining ground, indications are that the peace talks of the past 11 years between the Centre and the insurgent outfit, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), may hit bumpy roads, if not torpedoed. The main agenda of the talks is the unification of the “Naga-inhabited areas” in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with Nagaland.
Six organisations representing the Chang, the Konyak, the Sangtam, the Khiamniungan, the Yimchungru and the Phom tribes in Nagaland have submitted a memorandum to the Centre, including Home Secretary G.K. Pillai.
The tribes had formed the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO), which is demanding a new State comprising the districts of Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire and Mon.
The memorandum says that 9-lakh Nagas of the 20-lakh population of the State reside in these districts. There are 11 districts in the State.
In a memorandum sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the ENPO said that in terms of development, areas inhabited by its tribes had been neglected.
The NSCN(IM) has so far not reacted to the ENPO demand.
Naga Army report
It is very disappointing to learn that the Khaplang boys have backtracked to their aggressive nature and resumed with their expansionist policy, in spite of the mutual commitment to maintain status quo. On the calm evening of December 27, our mobile post located at Khamlang village, in the Miao subdivision of Changlang District, suddenly came under fierce attack by the unscrupulous Khaplang boys. They were about 110 of them, armed to death who surrounded and raided the camp from all sides. Our brave soldiers, though only a section of them, firmly hold the ground and finally repelled the attackers. One of our cadres got injured on the thigh but he is out of danger now. During clearance, an unidentified body was found, barely buried on the ground just outside our camp. This clearly shows that they have no respect for the deaths. It is for all of us to contemplate how the youngsters were allured into this gang in the name of the nation, promising them money and power but end up dumping their bodies without honour.
Now, whether Naga Army shall retaliate immediately or play the situation down in the best interest of the people is in the prudent decision of the higher authorities and their subsequent directive orders. Meanwhile, for the record, it is hereby declared that the Khaplang group has deliberately violated the Covenant of Reconciliation mutually agreed and signed on different instances, for reasons known to them. The group’s integrity has once again comes under public scrutiny. Given their history of betrayals replete with bloodshed, it becomes imperative to ask: “What better options are they looking for, if not to reconcile?”
Dated: 28/12/10
Sd/- Col. Levi Zimik
PRO/IPR GHQ, Naga Army
Red Hot Grenades Finance Magazine Moneylife
Indians love spices and chilli is their favourite. But some Indian scientists are toying with the idea of using chilli as an explosive by adding it to hand grenades. Defence researchers say that the idea is to replace explosives in small hand grenades with a certain variety of red chilli to immobilise people without killing them, reported BBC. The chilli to be used is known as Bhut Jolokia which is 1,000 times hotter than the commonly-used kitchen chilli. The powder will also be sprayed on the fences around army barracks in the hope that it will keep out animals. Bhut Jolokia is available in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur was confirmed by Guinness World Record to be the hottest chilli in the world in 2007.